Artificial Intelligence: A Tool for Liberation or a Shackle?

Humanity stands at another pivotal moment, akin to the discovery of fire, as artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a transformative force. Fire, discovered roughly 400,000 years ago, marked humanity's first step beyond the logic of nature. It not only provided warmth and protection but, crucially, gave humans the night – a time for storytelling, meaning-making, and the formation of culture, distinguishing us from other animals.

Today, we face AI, a new 'fire,' prompting questions about its nature and its potential to both grant and take away. Drawing on the work of environmental scientist Vaclav Smil, the article posits that human civilization is fundamentally a history of energy transitions. These transitions, Smil argues, are slower, more complex, and far more dangerous than often perceived. The key question is whether AI represents a new form of fire, offering liberation, or a new form of constraint.

Historically, civilizations have been built on the control and conversion of energy and materials. From Smil's perspective on cement, steel, and ammonia, to Ed Conway's focus on sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, and lithium, the narrative of progress is deeply tied to resource acquisition. However, Smil also views energy as a 'language of civilization.' Each major energy shift, fire, agriculture, steam, electricity, has fundamentally altered how humans relate to the world, expanding not just power but perception and interaction.

AI, despite its digital guise, is a massive energy consumer. Reports indicate that a single query to ChatGPT consumes significantly more energy than a Google search. Tech giants are planning new or restarting nuclear power plants to fuel their AI infrastructure. This positions AI as a profound 'energy event,' but its nature remains ambiguous. Will it, like fire, free human cognition for deeper pursuits by automating repetitive tasks, or will it lead to a different kind of dependency, mirroring the unequal access to resources like oil that characterized previous eras?